Plan B for new Sacramento arena is dead

According to CBS 13 in Sacramento, AEG has informed Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson that they will not be involved in the effort to build a new arena in the railyards without an anchor tenant.

Plan B was a longshot at best after the Maloof family killed Plan A on April 27. Johnson had continued to promote a second option of building the new ESC either without an anchor tenant or by looking into other professional sports team options.

Clearly this is a blow to the city of Sacramento, which has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the Kings from relocating. They are now forced to rely on the words of the Maloof family, who again reiterated this weekend their intentions to stay in the capital city.

“Things are going to get better,” Joe Maloof told Ailene Voisin of the Sacramento Bee. “We’re not going anywhere. We’re not moving. We’re not selling. We’re going to fix our team – that’s what we’re going to do.”

The time to come back to the table is now, before the pieces in place scatter in the delta breeze.

About: James Ham

James Ham is the senior editor of Cowbell Kingdom, providing extensive Kings coverage through news analysis, in-depth interviews with players and staff and daily coverage of breaking news since 2010. Along with providing original content for the site, including the Cowbell Kingdom Podcast and his weekly Sunday Musings column, James also contributes to ESPN.com and is one of the producers behind the award-winning, independent documentary film "Small Market, Big Heart".

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About CK

Founded in 2009, Cowbell Kingdom is a member of the ESPN TrueHoop Network. Its goal is to provide frontline, on-the-ground coverage of the Kings that leads to interesting and thought-provoking discussion amongst readers.